Part of Your World
by A.N. Clara
Summary: Amelia is a mermaid that wants to explore the world, but not the one she lives in. After a lifetime of being tapped in the ocean, curiosity drives her to learn more about a nearby volcano, and the oddly enticing mermaid that lives inside it. Fem!America X Fem!England, USUKUS


The seventeenth time I fell in love was the hardest. Everyone knew that I always fell too hard and too fast, including me. I knew exactly when I was about to make a bad decision, but I didn't usually care. By the time I realized what was happening, I was already in love, already blinded. It was exactly the same with every person. But this was different. Yes, I knew I said that about all of the others, and I was wrong about all of them. This time it was true, though! What it took for me to fall head over fins, completely and utterly, indescribably in love with the absolute wrong person was meeting the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.

I first laid eyes on her when her tail, with the largest fin I had seen on a mermaid, emerged from the molten depths of the volcano that erupted periodically next to my home. My father had warned me that lava could be dangerous, to stay far away from the boiling abyss, but I was curious and never cared to listen, especially when curiosity got the best of me. Sometimes my friends and I would swim within a few yards of the edge where the rock had hardened from the last eruption. We tried to see the magma mermaids, the ones that were so different from us, though we knew that they rarely appeared above the surface.

Alice was not like the others. Her tail broke through the thick lava as effortlessly as if it were water, ready to explore the world outside of her volcano, and I marveled at her lifestyle. I would be burned alive were I to try the same thing. Entranced, I swam closer. Maybe I came too close, as the water was hotter than I knew to be safe. I didn't care. Despite my better judgment, I drew toward her.

The other mermaid lifted herself onto the edge of the volcano's ridge, balancing herself precariously over the water. She did not seem to notice how close she was to death. Alice leaned back so that the magma dripped from her hair into the ocean below, every drop sizzling where the two adverse elements met, tempting the god of death to take her for his own. I peered at her with only my eyes above the water, not caring that the heat stung more than I should have been comfortable with. She was just so beautiful. I had no choice but to sit and watch.

Her skin was dark, smooth, and shiny, crafted from the finest obsidian, cracked where her body moved like at her delicate wrists. Bright veins of light burst through these fractures and I suspected it was also magma, though I would not be surprised if it was pure magic. The crown of her head was adorned with a copper circlet, still glowing red hot from its plunge in the volcano. Her molten hair flowed down her back and over her breasts, looking no different than the lava her tail splashed idly. I was nearly convinced that she was the spirit of the volcano, because I couldn't tell where it ended and she began. They were a single, mysterious entity I could not take my eyes off of.

Without any inclination that she would do so, she glanced over her shoulder at me. "Well? Are you going to say 'ello or are you just going to swim there all day?"

I gasped, sinking my entire head below the water so she couldn't look directly at me. How long had she known I was there? I was so caught up in admiring her that I forgot my manners, forgot to tell her my name. It was very rude of me not to introduce myself and now I was embarrassed. My face felt hot, hotter than it should have been, even in the near boiling water.

I decided to face Alice instead of swimming away since she knew I was still there anyway. Plus, the heroine never flees! Not from such a lovely sight as this creature. There was no point in hiding right below the surface until she went away, I realized, and emerged my head from the water, watching her with a cautious expression.

"Come now, sea-fish," she said with a huff of annoyance, her words accented in a way that was unfamiliar to me. "If I wanted to hurt you, I would have already. My name is Alice."

She was staring down at me with fiery eyes that were miniature volcanoes set in her skull; she did not smile. I was powerless under her gaze, and I grinned shyly at her radiance.

"I'm Amelia." Alice appeared unimpressed. I tried appealing to flattery. "You are very beautiful."

Her tail went still for a moment. Something changed in her face so quickly that I did not have time to recognize what it was. Then it was gone. The corner of her lips turned up and she resumed splashing the insanely hot substance around the pool. "I know."

Well, of course she knew that! Men were probably begging for her hand all the time, and here I was, gawking at her from the ocean like some creep. She realized that I was below her in many ways, literally and figuratively, but a compliment was a compliment, so she would accept it.

"Why have I never seen you before?" I asked before she could decide she was tired of me.

"There are many volcanoes. I would be more surprised that you saw me at all."

I wouldn't know a lot about volcanoes. Very few appeared along the coast where I could see them and this island was an exception. I heard they were usually found farther inland. Then again, I rarely stayed close enough to land at all to know much about that either.

"Why did you choose this one, then?"

"I wanted to see the ocean today."

Alice's arm moved stiffly when she gestured toward the open water. A sad expression was on her face. She sighed in agitation and slid back into the volcano, submerging herself completely. I was worried she was going to leave, sick of me and my silly questions, but she burst from the glowing pool with a graceful flip of her hair. She then folded her arms across the edge where she had been sitting and rested her chin upon them. I was astonished by her.

"I am more like you than you think," she said. "If I am out of my element for too long, I'll harden and die, just as you would dehydrate were you to leave the water. It isn't as difficult to stay alive as it sounds, but it tends to be very dull, staying in the volcano for so long."

I smiled sadly, knowing exactly what she meant. "I wish I could get out of the ocean. There is all of this land to discover and I'm trapped in the water. I'm sick of swimming. Can't you go anywhere in the world?"

Alice shook her head. "Most of the world is water, you know - over half of it. You have more freedom than I do, even if it doesn't seem that way."

No one had ever told me that. I guess it made sense, though, since everyone I had ever known was a mermaid and would have no experience with land. What else could I learn from Alice, I wondered. I knew several things I'd like her to teach me, none of them at all like this geography lesson.

"What it is it like, being a lava mermaid?"

She blinked at me. "Is that what you call us? That doesn't make sense in the slightest. Lava women of the sea?"

"You called me a sea-fish!" I grumbled. " _That_ doesn't make any sense. All fish are from the sea!"

Alice looked amused. "Not all. Perhaps you are more sheltered than I am." She did not explain how fish could be found many other places than the ocean.

"What do you call yourselves?"

"Some say we are the guardians of the volcanoes, so that is the name we have grown accustomed to. Others call us Fire Sirens. I don't truly fancy either of those, so I call myself Alice."

Her tail rose from the molten rock behind her. The veins of her fin were strands of gold, weaving an intricate web through the thin plate of onyx-colored material. She brought it down with a sharp crack. Droplets of red-hot lava rained down around her. Alice was incredibly beautiful. Every part of her was precious.

I thought about how I would never be able to touch her. No one ever would. It made me sad to know that only others of her kind could stroke her skin or run a hand through her hair. I desperately wanted to kiss her cheek, just once, to know how it felt. Hot, I bet. Really, really hot.

"You're lucky they can't hurt you," I said after a moment, having strayed from the previous topic. "They can't catch you like they try to with my family."

Alice knew I was talking about the humans. She nodded sympathetically. "You are right. They would gladly kill me for my tail and tears. I am fortunate they can't touch me."

"You are very beautiful. I would hate to see them hurt you."

"I think you are beautiful as well, Amelia."

I blushed slightly and then Alice was quiet for a while. Her hair did not glow as bright. She was thinking about something that made her sad. I never wanted to see her upset another day in her life.

"Have you ever killed a man?" she wondered cautiously.

I scowled at her. "Of course not! I'm not a monster. I'm a good mermaid. I save the people that drown!"

Alice's eyes grew wide. "I must apologize. I did not mean to offend you. I was... curious. "

"It's okay. I just - I want to help them. If they see that we aren't bad, then maybe they'll leave us alone. Maybe then I won't have to live so far from the island."

"Why would you want to live close to the island?"

I smiled at her and pointed to the pool in front of me. "There's a volcano."

Alice's hair ignited once more, glowing fiercely. I think that is how she blushed. Her eyes were lidded as they looked down and her lips spread into a genuine smile. "Indeed there is..."

My skin was burning, having sat still in the hot water for too long, and I knew I couldn't stay much longer. Even the scales on my tail, which could withstand almost anything, were beginning to ache. Alice moved stiffly from her shoulders up, which were the only parts of her not submerged in the volcano. I knew she was in pain as well. We were being stubborn and it was going to get both us killed. She noticed this as she tried to find something to say. Alice looked sad again.

"You're turning an unhealthy shade of red, Amelia. Perhaps it's time for you to go."

"I think you're right. But we haven't talked that long yet. I want to know you."

"Come back tomorrow and we'll meet again," she promised.

"Can I see you everyday?" Until the end of time, I added in my mind.

Alice had a very gentle smile. It made my heart race. "I would like that very much." She began sliding back into the lava with more grace than I ever had. "Farewell, my dear Amelia."

With a shy wave goodbye, I dove beneath the water and swam away, squealing with joy. Even after the ocean became cool around me, I still felt incredibly warm as though I had fallen into Alice's volcano. Her eyes pierced my very soul and I was afraid that she could tell I was already completely head over fins in love with her. She made me feel like I could conquer the world. It was a feeling that I hoped would never go away.

I swam so quickly my tail could have fallen off, spurred by a heart full of love and excitement. Though this carried me farther away from my love, I was happy, and I knew there was no reason to worry. Alice wanted to see me again. I clenched my hands into tight fists and wiggled my tail in glee. She said she would like to see me tomorrow and every day after that.

"What has you in a tizzy?"

Whirling around, I greeted my sister Madeline with the biggest grin I could manage without my splitting my face in half. "Oh, Maddie! Isn't it wonderful?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Isn't what wonderful?" she repeated quietly. She was always so shy, even around me.

"Love, of course!"

Maddie sorta smiled to herself, probably thinking about her mate. She and Gil had been together for what seemed like forever. He was one of my best friends since the beginning of time, but that doesn't mean I liked him being with my sister. I stuck my tongue out in disgust.

"Ew. Keep that to yourself. I'm talking about _me_ being in love."

"Who is it this week?" The sarcasm was thick in her tiny voice. I pretended to be offended.

"This isn't like the others, Maddie! She is different."

Madeline's eyes got really wide. " _She_?"

"Dude, we're past that. She's incredible! I can't believe I met the love of my life today."

"Who is it? You never liked Liz or Kat or the other... _girls_. Which one is she?"

I spun in a circle, so merry and gay. "No, you don't understand. She's not from here at all. I met her by the volcano."

"You're not making any sense, Amelia."

She grabbed me by the shoulders so I would stop wriggling. I continued to flit my tail rapidly, unable to swim still. My hands were shaking. Madeline sternly looked me in the eye.

"Stop moving. You're making me nervous."

"I can't! I miss her so much already."

Maddie shook her head. "Can you quit acting like a guppy for one minute and tell me what's gotten into you?"

"Her name is Alice and she's perfect - like, _so_ perfect. Well... mostly."

"What's wrong with her?"

"She kinda lives _in_ the volcano."

My sister's face dropped. "Alice is a lava mermaid?"

 _She doesn't like to be called that_ , I thought bitterly.

I shrugged as though it were a minor detail. "We can't all be perfect."

"Amelia..." Madeline dropped her hands and gave me a pitying look.

"Don't you 'Amelia' me. I love her." I was not about to let her ruin my mood. "Oh, Maddie! You should have seen her. She might just be magic."

Madeline rolled her eyes, displeased with my ramblings about the mermaid that stole my heart in less than an hour. She began swimming away slowly, meaning for me to follow, no more words exchanged between us. I think she was trying to comprehend what I had told her, though I really never knew what Maddie was thinking. She may have been my twin, but we were as different as fire and water. Or a volcano and the ocean, haha.

"You better just hope Alfred doesn't find out about this," she said, referring to our big brother.

"Let me worry 'bout that and you worry 'bout yourself."

What I didn't tell her was that he was even gayer than I was. Just because he charmed the fins off the other mermaids didn't mean his eyes didn't stray to the merman whose impressive size made him intimidating to most. Alfred knew that the frightening silver-haired man was a shy dolphin at heart, and he loved him very much. I would never betray that to our sister, however. It was his secret to tell.

Madeline and I spent the evening as we usually did, braiding each other's hair and talking quietly about things that were not even secrets, but I think that is what strengthened our bond as sisters. No one ever bothered us when we went about our alone time away from the rest of the pod. They knew better than to interrupt us when we were together. Even Alfred, who I hadn't seen in days, as he went on a long journey to find us a new home, saw that we were performing our nightly ritual and left us well alone. He knew we would visit with him later. For now, all I needed was my sister and she me.

Madeline asked me more about Alice when it was my turn to have my hair done. I wanted it to look especially nice for tomorrow and she agreed to help me. While my sister set to work, I gushed about my love for far longer than I should have been able to. What did I really know about the mesmerizing creature from the depths of the volcano? Still, I went on to tell Madeline every grueling detail from her elegant face to her delicate grace. She had to get tired of me talking so much, but she listened - she always did.

"Do you think she'll really show up?" I was filled with doubt.

"I think so. She said she would." Madeline sounded wary about something.

"What?"

"Amelia... what if Alice doesn't like you the way that you like her?"

I had barely any time to think about that, but it had crossed my mind. "It doesn't really matter, right? We can't be together anyway. We'd die."

"That's awfully morbid."

"It's true."

Maddie was quiet for a while. She never was one for a tragic romantic tale, unlike me. My sister always preferred the love stories that ended with a happily ever after. I knew that only a true hero could make those possible, but as much as I believed that I was the heroine, I knew I could never be with my love. Alice was as far out of my reach as a pair of human legs.

"There," Madeline said.

She held up a mirror shard I found several years ago so I could admire my hair. I was the only mermaid I knew that had almost a complete mirror, and I treasured it more than anything else I owned. Madeline looked really proud of her work and I hugged her tightly, thanking her for making me even more beautiful for Alice. I loved my sister so much.

Even after the night continued on, Madeline was still sad about what I had said. If there was anything she could do about it, she would have. I knew her at least that much to understand how she felt about it. My sister would give me the world if she could and I wished that I could say that I would do the same, but I knew I could never be as wholeheartedly good as her. She was good without even trying.

I suggested that we go see Alfred before he disappeared (to Ivan's cave) as he did every night, hoping that would take her mind off of my doomed relationship with Alice. Even though he and Maddie weren't as close as I was with him, she still loved him, in that he's-my-brother-so-I-have-to sort of way. She agreed to tag along so I wouldn't have to swim alone. I had too much excited energy built up to swim all of that way quietly and needed her to talk to. If not, I'd probably talk out loud to myself, and then everyone would think I've gotten sick in the head instead of caught the Love Bug.

We didn't say much else about Alice or really anything that mattered. Sometimes it was nice just to tell her about my day, ask her if she thought the current was strong lately, or declare that this "Global Warming" thing the humans always went on about was a bunch of lies 'cause the water is even colder than it was last year. She would remind me that it was a real thing, explaining all of the science behind it. I liked hearing her talk a lot. She didn't do it often.

Alfred was swimming over the edge of the reef when we caught up with him. He hugged us both and made an awful dad joke I can't even remember because it was seriously that bad. I imagined he used them all on us since he wouldn't be having his own guppies to annoy. It was always so unfunny that I laughed. That made him tell them

even more often, but I didn't mind.

"Did you find a new island?" I asked, fearing that he might have.

Alfred threw up his hands. "I found lots of 'em! But how many are unoccupied? Or not polluted? Or have a good food source?" He didn't ask anyone in particular. "None. None of 'em!"

"Oh... darn. Maybe next time?"

"Maybe next time," he repeated, tapping me on the nose.

I prayed he would never find another damned island. If that meant the whole ocean had to dry up, so be it. When we left, it was for forever, and I would never see Alice again. I couldn't let that happen. It wouldn't be the end of the world if we had to stay here by any means. We would have to be more careful, sure, but we'd survive.

"Welcome home, bro. I missed you."

"I missed you, too. You look very pretty. Who're you dolled up for? I kill him."

With a shrug, I dismissed him, internally laughing at what his reaction to Alice would be. "Maddie and I were just playing around. We only came by to say hi. We should probably go back now."

"Adios, little sisters!"

Madeline waved goodbye while I hugged him. We would talk about it some other time. For now, I had to sleep so I would be fresh-faced for Alice in the morning. My sister and I fell asleep as we always had, even though everything was about to change.

* * *

For the little Mermaid in my life, OutToGarden


End file.
